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• 1.000 mg/1. Standard values for iron. copper, and total dissolved <br />solids for streams are often exceeded. <br />Vegetation <br />Native vegetation before conversion to agriculture was sagebrush with <br />an understory of Idaho fescue. western wheatgrass. and blue grasses. <br />Approximately 120 acres of dryland cropland was disturbed by mining <br />activities and reclaimed to rangeland in 1982 by Colorado Yampa Coal <br />Company. The remaining acreage supports a sagebrush plant <br />community. With average precipitation, the reclaimed area will <br />produce approximately 2,000 pound of dried forage per year and the <br />sagebrush sites approximately 1.500 pounds per acre. <br />Wildlife <br />Terrestrial habitat within the study area consists of reclaimed land <br />with established grassland vegetation and 10 percent native <br />sagebrush/grassland community. The entire area is within winter <br />range for mule deer and elk. Estimated average densities for mule <br />deer and elk on winter range in the region are 47 and 14 animals per <br />square mile. respectively. The specific number of these species that <br />actually utilize the.lease modification area are unknown. <br />Other game species found in the vicinity include sage grouse. blue <br />• grouse, and sharp-tailed grouse. The extent that these species <br />utilize the subject area is unknown. <br />Soils <br />Because the lease modification area was recently surface mined and is <br />being reclaimed, soils in the area are relatively undeveloped and <br />unclassified. The major soils stripped during topsoil salvage <br />operations included the Routt loam, Buckskin loam. and Buckley silty <br />clay loam. These series are described in detail in the Routt County <br />Soil Survey Report. available for review at the Soil Conservation <br />Service Office in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. <br />Visual Resources <br />The area has vegetative and topographic variety which is common <br />throughout the vicinity. The lease modification area has been <br />surface mined and is presently undergoing revegetation. Scenic <br />quality on the area is rated C (low). <br />Cultural Resources <br />The entire lease modification area has been surveyed at a Class III <br />level (100 percent intensive inventory). No cultural resourcess <br />prehistoric or historic. were identified during the Class III survey <br />• work.